John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland

John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504-22 August 1553) was Lord High Admiral of England from 1543 to 1547 and from 1549 to 1550, Lord Great Chamberlain from 1547 to 1550, Earl Marshal from 1551 to 1553, Grand Master of the Household from 1550 to 1553, and Lord President of the Council from 1550 to 1553. Dudley effectively ruled England from 1550 to 1553 as regent for Edward VI of England, and he failed in his attempt to install his daughter-in-law Lady Jane Grey on the throne of England after Edward's death. He was executed at the Tower of London on the orders of Queen Mary I of England.

Biography
John Dudley was born in London, England in 1504, the son of financial agent Edmund Dudley. His father was executed at the start of King Henry VIII's reign, and he became the ward of Sir Edward Guildford at the age of seven. He married Guildford's daughter Jane, with whom he would have 13 children. Dudley served as Vice-Admiral and Lord Admiral from 1537 to 1547, during which times he set novel standards of organization for the Royal Navy and innovated sea command. Dudley took part in expeditions against Scotland and France in 1544, and he was one of King Henry VIII's intimates in the last years of his life, having led the dominant Protestant faction at the King's court. In 1547, he was created Earl of Warwick, and, with Lord Protector Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, he distinguished himself in the renewed Scottish war at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh. In 1549, he put down Kett's Rebellion, and he decided to overthrow the incompetent Duke of Somerset in October 1549.

Regent of England
By early 1550, Dudley was the de facto regent for the young King Edward VI of England. He had Somerset executed on largely fabricated charges, three months after he had been raised to Duke of Northumberland in October 1551. As Lord President of the Council, he ran a conciliar government and attempted to introduce the king into business. Dudley ended the costly wars with France and Scotland and oversaw some economic recovery. In addition, he introduced countywide policing to prevent further rebellions from occurring. Dudeley's reign saw the appointment of radical Protestants to high positions, and he continued the English Reformation.

Downfall
In 1553, Edward VI changed his will so that Dudley's daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey (wife of Sir Guildford Dudley), would inherit the throne upon his death. Dudley had engineered this, hoping to disinherit the Catholic Mary of England from becoming queen. He marched to East Anglia to capture Princess Mary, but he surrendered upon hearing that the Privy Council had changed sides and accepted Mary as queen. Convicted of high treason, Dudley abjured the Protestant faith and reverted to Catholicism, and he was beheaded on 22 August 1553.